


How It Started

by irishfino



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Gen, because why not, the beginnings of friendship, westwells, which'll lead to romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5900647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irishfino/pseuds/irishfino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry tells Iris the truth surrounding her injuries and she makes the decision to befriend him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

                “Miss West,” Harrison said, “I owe you an apology.”

                When he had first appeared at her hospital bedside, Iris was surprised. It couldn’t have been easy getting in here and who’s name did he use to sign in? His visitor sticker said “Harry” in block letters, so he hadn’t lied completely.

                She looked up at him, eyebrows knit together and a small frown tugging at her lips. “An apology for what?”

                “I,” he started. The age lines in his face deepened as he frowned and bowed his head. “I am the reason you are injured.”

                “What?” she asked, anger edging its way into her voice.

                The man before her hunched his shoulders and fiddled with his fingers. “I – Zoom. Zoom told me to steal Barry’s speed. If I stole it – if I gave it to Zoom – Jesse – I’d get – he’d spare Jesse.” The words tumbled from his mouth and fell beside her haphazardly. “I took – it was just a small amount. Two percent, but it was enough – I’m so sorry – I made a mistake. A horrible mistake.” He licked his lips. “Miss West – Iris. I don’t expect forgiveness or even understanding. I just thought you should know why the Flash failed. It was me.”

                That day, she sent him on his way, his shoulders hunched –  one slightly tenser than the other –  his black ball cap pulled so low it hid most of his face, and his hands stuffed into his pockets. He was defeated. She enjoyed his defeat until she was released from the hospital.

***

                Harry found himself alone at his desk more often than not. Barry was off saving the world, Garrick was who knows where, Snow and Ramon seemed to avoid him lately, and he was most definitely not on speaking terms with Joseph West. It was fine. He was fine. He preferred to be alone. He enjoyed the sounds of whirring machines, the subtle buzzing of florescent lighting, and the squeaking of marker on board.

                The sound of heels tapping a steady staccato toward his work area shocked him from his thoughts. No one should be down here this time of night. Morning. Whatever. He reached for the small gun he kept strapped to the bottom of his desk just in case. As his fingers brushed across the cool steel grip, a voice came from the doorway.

                “Dr. Wells,” it said. It was Iris.

                He slowly pulled his hand from under the desk and turned in his chair toward the doorway.

                “Miss West. I am surprised to see you here,” he said. He kept his voice even and light, almost pleasant. He didn’t need to cause her more pain.

                “I’m not even sure why I’m here,” she confessed. She took a few steps into the room then stopped to look around.

                “I can’t tell you that.”

                “Yeah, I know.”

                He stared at her for a few moments before turning his attention to a stack of papers on his desk. He poked at the pile, messing it up a bit before running his index finger along the corners of the stack. His stomach clenched as Iris stepped further into the room. He wanted to know what she needed from him. Then he could go back to being alone.

                “How are you healing?” she asked as she stepped over to his desk and leaned against the corner closest to him.

                His brows knit in confusion. She wasn’t here to yell at him, to demand that he leave this place and never return? She wasn’t here to tell him to stay away from her and her family? How strange. And extraordinary.

                “From which injury?” he quipped.

                She chuckled. “All of them.”

                “Well enough. I can’t exactly see a doctor, but Snow does her best.”

                “You hide the pain well.”

                “Not well enough.”

                “I noticed it when you left. Your left shoulder, you’re holding it differently than your right. What happened?”

                He scoffed. “Zoom happened.” He continued fiddling with the corners of the papers on his desk. He didn’t need to see pity or sympathy bearing down on him. His voice was gruff and low as he spoke. “When I took him Barry’s speed, I told him I would get the rest if he’d give me back my daughter. He told me he didn’t need me or Jesse to get Barry’s speed and gave me a small sample of the torture he could put her through. I – he has talons or claws or something and he stabbed me and forced his lightning – I could feel it, searing its way across every nerve, telling every neuron to fire pain. Pain and suffering. And he could do it again and again and again without killing me.”

                “I’m sorry.”

                That set him off. He pushed away from the desk and made his way to one of his many boards. He wished the distance helped.

                “I made my choices and I suffered the consequences. Pity gets me nowhere,” he said roughly. He glared at the clear glass board as if it had offended him, as if it had been the thing to make him angry. No, he was angry at his own weakness, his own inability to do _anything_ on his own.

                “It’s sympathy and it can get you companionship and comradery if you bothered to get your head out of your own ass for five minutes,” Iris replied.

                He turned and stared at her in profile. She sat rigidly, her arms crossed and her feet flat on the floor. She arched an eyebrow in challenge as he stared.

                “What did you come here for?” he asked instead.

                “To check on you,” she replied. “And to tell you I don’t forgive you.” He knew that was coming. “But I would like to. I think we should get to know each other better. I was the newest member on Team Flash at one point, too.”

                His eyes widened in surprise and a light pink blush dusted its way across his cheeks. She had always been nice to him, even as he wore the face of the man who caused so much suffering and death on this Earth. It didn’t matter that that man, Eobard Thawne, was wearing a Harrison Wells suit, he was still the face, the voice, the genius.

                He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You – you want to be friends?” he asked.

                “Yes,” she replied as confident as ever.

                “Alright,” he said.

                That’s how it started. An apology. An open mind and an open heart. An outstretched hand poking and prodding at a black-clad man.

                That’s how it started. With a whimper.


	2. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Cisco have a little chat.

                Harry’s self-imposed exile was broken by Ramon – Cisco. He’s a good kid, a little overeager some times, and a little chatty, but a good kid. The poor kid was nervous. He could tell by the way Cisco continuously chomped down on his lollipop before moving it to his cheek like a squirrel with a nut.

                “Hey Harry,” Cisco started, “uh, I was wondering uh – hey listen for a sec to me and don’t throw anything at me okay?” Harry simply nodded. “Awesome, thanks. You’ve been a dick. Like a huge dick. But we all know why now. Please stop being a dick now. Oh, and, uh, sorry for wishing bodily harm on you.”

                Harry arched a brow. He hadn’t heard Cisco wish much bodily harm.

                “I kind of wished Joe had shot you. I’m sorry.”

                Harry sighed. “Cisco,” he said. He enjoyed Cisco’s slight jump of surprise at the use of his name. “You’re not the first to wish I would die or be beaten for their enjoyment. You won’t be the last. I have been distant, but you know why now. I apologize that I put you in an awkward position.”

                “Awesome! Great! So… can we work together again?”

                “I would love that, Cisco.”

                Cisco’s squeal of happiness echoed pleasantly in his ears. Another friend for Harry Wells. Another comrade.


	3. Big Belly Buddies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Joe have a short talk. Iris brings Harry some food from Big Belly Burger.

                Joe doesn’t come around until Iris is there with him. He doesn’t mind. If anyone can stop Joe from hitting him again, it’s Iris. Joe doesn’t really apologize, he’s nowhere near sorry for slugging Harry a few times. Harry’s a father, too, he understands the impulse. He understands the drive to hurt whoever has hurt his daughter. These days he lives by that drive.

                Joe leaves after offering vague promises of “drinks sometime” but Iris stays. He doesn’t quite understand why, but he enjoys her company while it lasts.

***

                After her dad finally leaves, Iris turns her attention to the dour man perched on one of the stools in the lab. He looks small and human here in the lab, almost approachable, but there’s a bit of steel in his straight back and a fire burning in his eyes. Fire’s good. Fire is passion and light and life. Fire is better than ice.

                “Hey, so, I was wondering what you were doing tonight?” she asks.

                Harry shrugs at her. “Working over more formulas, coming up with a different plan.”

                She walks over to his desk and sits on the corner. “If you could steal Barry’s speed with a device, can’t you do the same to Zoom?” She’s honestly curious about what this man is planning.

                “I’ve considered that. Use myself as bait with a vial of what looks like Barry’s speed. Make him inject himself with something that would stun him long enough for me to attach a device to him. The device would have to stun him as well as sap his speed. I haven’t come up with anything close, but I haven’t tried since –” he gestures at this and she knows he means since he stole a bit of Barry’s speed.

                She nods. “Oh! I grabbed some Big Belly Burger on the way here. It might be a little cold.”

                She registers the widening of his eyes and watches as his eyebrows raise. He’s surprised. She likes that she can surprise him.

                “I love Big Belly Burger.”

                “I know.”

                “How?” he asks. He’s genuinely confused by her knowledge.

                She chuckles. “Friends know these things about friends.”

                He smiles and inclines his head. “That they do.” He stands from his stool and gestures for her to leave ahead of him. “That they do.”


	4. Netflix and Spill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry asks Iris what "Netflix and Chill" means during his introduction to Netflix binge watching.

                “What is ‘Netflix and Chill’?” Harry asks her one day. She immediately regrets offering to acclimatize him to his Earth-2’s pop culture and movies.

                Iris chokes on her popcorn. “We are not – we are sooo not having this conversation.”

                “What? What ‘conversation’? Is this a sex thing?”

                She excuses herself, feigning bathroom business. She is definitely not going to have this conversation with Harry. A quick text to Cisco informs him that if he’s going to use phrases like “Netflix and Chill” around Harry, he damn well better explain because she is not the one.

                _That was totally Barry!_

_I do NOT care. I am NOT having that convo with Harry._

_Kk sry :(_

_You better be!_

                When she returns, Harry is beet red and avoids eye contact. He must have looked it up. She sighs. Damn highly curious minds with access to advanced technology. And the Internet.

                “Harry,” she starts. The poor man jumps in his seat.

                “I found it, it’s fine. I didn’t mean we would – that we should – I didn’t even know what Netflix was until an hour ago,” he splutters.

                “Yeah, I’m cool with us just forgetting this happened and moving back to our binge watch of _Scrubs_.”

                “It is a very interesting take on the medical profession. I knew a few medical doctors.”

                Iris makes herself comfortable next to Harry. “Really?”

                “Yes.” He munches on a few kernels of popcorn. “I like this Dan character.”

                “He doesn’t show up much.”

                “Too bad. He’s wonderful.”

                “Yeah, I guess he is pretty wonderful.”

                Harry smiles and Iris takes that as encouragement. He’s really sweet when he tears down his walls of anger and lets a little light in.


	5. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their friendship evolves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was always meant to be a short story and I kind of kept writing it. This is the end of this story.

                Harrison doesn’t realize it at first, and, in fact, wouldn’t until it was pointed out to him, but he has grown inexplicably close to Iris. He’s bonded well with the others, their bonding furthered infinitely with the rescue of his daughter Jesse, but it’s Iris he’s closest to. Everyone knows it. Except him. It isn’t until Iris kisses his cheek as she leaves for the evening that he realizes he’s in deep. He finds that he doesn’t mind the thought at all. It’s not as if anything will happen between them; his situation is far, far too complicated for that. Nevertheless, he enjoys the daydreams and regular dreams; they give him something else to focus on.

                Then it happens. One night, during her cheek kiss goodbye, he turns his head ever so slightly and their lips touch. In the moment, neither of them move. He blinks a few times, not fully processing what has just occurred. Then she kisses him full on the mouth and any thoughts or excuses quickly dissolve against the softness of her lips against his.

                That’s how their relationship starts: with an accidental kiss. And it doesn’t end for many, many, many years.

 

The End


End file.
